Another year, another phenomenal finish at the Meijer LPGA Classic as Miyu Yamashita defeated Lottie Woad in a playoff at Blythefield Country Club.
Yamashita came into the day trailing third-round leader Jing Yan by five strokes, but erased that quickly with five birdies on the first seven holes, leading to a 31 on her front nine. Yamashita didn’t slow down on the back, making birdies on 10, 11 and 13, and was pretty firmly in the territory to make a run at a potential sub-60 score.
The unpredictable back nine at Blythefield often delivers though, as Yamashita made a bogey on 15 and set herself up with a must-birdie situation on the reachable par 5 18th, she did make birdie there to get herself in a potential playoff position.
Standing in her way though was Lottie Woad, who was putting together a fantastic weekend of her own. Woad was in prime position considering the amount of holes she had left, but hit a poor shot into the 17th hole, leaving her a difficult bunker shot that putt Yamashita right back into play. Woad proceeded to hit an incredible bunker shot in for birdie to take a one-stroke lead heading into a great birdie opportunity on 18.
Woad’s second shot drifted left, leaving her a relatively difficult third. She raced it long but still was in position to make the par she needed for a regulation victory. Her short par putt lipped out though, setting up a playoff between two of the best young players on the LPGA Tour.
On the first and only playoff hole, Yamashita made a fairly easy birdie, while Woad made par, handing Yamashita her third victory of her LPGA Tour career, her first in 2026.
The 2025 LPGA Tour Rookie of the Year is now in prime position with a lot of momentum heading into the major championship season, where three of the next four events are majors. She will be looking for her second after winning last year’s AIG Women’s Open.
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